Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

A Case for Minimalism

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For the past year or so, I’ve been rolling around the idea of minimalism in my head. It is attractive to me as a way of life and seems to fit well within my desire to be a true follower of Jesus. If you are unfamiliar with the term, one website defines a minimalist lifestyle as a life that “is free of complications, clutter, confusion and distraction.” Minimalists live with only what is necessary for their daily needs. There are some who take the lifestyle to the extreme of almost making a religion of it, but I am only concerned with its usefulness as it applies to living a life that is more in tune with Jesus.

Certainly anyone can see that a life that is free of confusion and distraction would be a lifestyle that would more easily lend itself to prayer and quiet times alone with the Lord. I don’t know about you, but my prayers are often distracted by the countless “mental emergencies” that pop into my head. This year I have endeavored to set aside two hours each Sunday afternoon for quiet reflection, study and prayer. My weeks are rather full, as I’m sure you can relate, so the first two weeks of quiet time with God led to about a forty-five minute exhaustion nap creeping into the beginning of my time with God. I feel like Peter who couldn’t even stay awake and diligently pray with Christ when He asked him to. Too often our attempts at extended times of prayer become frustrating because our minds are so busy that we find it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand; or like me, our lives are so busy that that the body only understands slowing down in the context of sleeping.

Surely pursuing a simpler, less complex life could do wonders for our spiritual growth. In fact I see it modeled in the life of Jesus. After embarking on His ministry, it appears that He had no permanent home of his own, or at least not one He visited very often. Perhaps He left His home and belongings behind to model the lifestyle He would require of His disciples. After all, He was a man in His twenties, so He would have surely accumulated some material possessions by this point. Since He walked everywhere He went, he apparently had no means of transportation. When he sent His disciples out, He instructed them to not even take an extra shirt, telling them that God would provide for their needs (Luke 9:3). Indeed, when he taught about living stress free, He told us not to worry about what we will eat or drink, or what we will wear (Matthew 6:31-33). Yet somehow we have reversed that teaching and now fill our pantries and closets to be certain that we will have enough for the foreseeable future. Instead of depending solely on God for our needs, we have come to depend on our paychecks. We only cry out to God to sustain us when we lose our jobs.

All of the “stuff” we accumulate can distract us from focusing on Jesus. We rely on our possessions to provide for our needs. The more we have, the more time and energy it consumes to maintain it. Cars must be washed and repaired, appliances must be cleaned and serviced, and houses must be continuously picked up and organized. Every new thing we add to our list of possessions has ramifications far beyond its purchase in the form of some sort of ongoing time and energy investment. Let me be clear by saying I am not advocating that we all sell our cars, appliances and houses; but I’m not saying we shouldn’t either. I’d honestly rather not own a home than have it become something that gets between me and God. In fact I’d rather not own anything if what I possess distracts me from my pursuit of loving and serving Him. There is probably a happy medium in between somewhere, so that is what I am seeking. I look at those Christians in other parts of this world who are devastatingly poor, yet immensely happy. They have discovered that joy is found only in Jesus, not in their “stuff”. Then I look at all the unhappy, stressed out and defeated Christians in America. We are missing something and I want to find it!

Here’s my challenge to you: take an honest look at your life and see if there are areas where you have come to rely more on your possessions than on Jesus. Begin praying for Him to sustain you each day, and be truly thankful for that provision. Don’t pray over your meals out of habit but rather concentrate on the immense blessing that has been given you. I am embarking on an interesting adventure where I have decided to get rid of five possessions each week until the end of the year. I didn’t count first to see if that is a comfortable or reasonable goal, but I want to see where it takes me and how simply I am willing to live. I want to depend on God each day for everything and nothing else. The Psalmist says that He is our provision. I want that to be true of my life; I want to live a simple life for Jesus, free from distraction and clutter. Following Jesus is simple; it is we who have made it complex. Let’s get back to basics, living a life that depends wholly on Him. Then we can truly be called followers of Jesus.

How’s Your Reflection?

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We were created to glorify God through the use of the unique blend of talents and ambitions He has placed within each of us. We glorify Him by reflecting His love and His character to the lives of others through the way we live. Regardless of where we find ourselves, we are always reflecting something to the world around us. So at least as often as we check our reflection in a mirror, we need to check what we are reflecting to those with whom we come into contact. When we are faithfully reflecting Christ, our lives will be marked by the same things that characterized His life: love and service to others.

There are to be no exceptions to our love. Jesus loves every person with the same infinite and all-encompassing love with which He loves you. We all have people in our lives that we’d truthfully rather not be around, or people who only seek to do us harm. These are the hardest to love, of course, but if we want to glorify God with our lives, then we must reach out and love all people the same. It’s not easy to think of loving someone who has hurt you repeatedly or someone who may even want to kill you, but this is the love that was demonstrated by Jesus. Shortly before His arrest, which would lead to His crucifixion, we find Jesus eating a meal with the very one He knew would betray Him. Peter disowned Jesus when Christ most needed His support, yet only a few days later Jesus was cooking Him breakfast and appointing him to be the leader of His Church. Jesus holds no grudges and forgives all wrongs done against Him. He loves with a perfect love that has little regard for Himself, yet holds those He loves in the highest esteem.

Just as there are no exceptions to love, no one is to be considered unworthy of our service. We must guard against ever putting ourselves above another. In the most extreme example of humility, Jesus stepped away from His glory and into the messiness and lowliness of sinful human life. The price was not too great for Him, and He unabashedly pursued the opportunity to serve those He loved. Mere hours before Judas would betray Him, we find Jesus washing the feet of His betrayer. Even in His darkest hour, the focus and mission of Jesus was to humbly serve others in any way that He could. He spent His last hours of freedom on earth breaking bread and sharing a meal with those He loved, serving them one last time before His death. The life of Christ was marked by love and service from the beginning to the very end.

How do our lives compare? Do we forgive others for the wrongs they inflict upon us? Do we go out of our way to serve those who mean us harm? In doing these things, we reflect the love of Jesus and glorify our Lord. Love and service are not catchphrases of Christianity, but rather the very essence of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. If we will not love and serve others, then we cannot be followers Christ. If you pray a prayer to accept Jesus but then do not demonstrate His love and attitude of service to others, I believe you are in a precarious position, one that may find you gravely disappointed when your life is done. Remember, even the demons believe in Jesus and they shudder in fear (James 2:19). Don’t be a believer who cowers, one who never experiences the fullness of life that is found only by following Jesus. Be more than a believer; be a follower.

Determine today that you will no longer allow divine moments to slip from your grasp. Act with compassion and love toward everyone you encounter today. Remember that each and every person is of infinite worth to Jesus, and we must treat them with the same honor and respect that He ascribes to them. Don’t walk by an opportunity to serve someone. If you see someone in trouble, be the Samaritan rather than the religious person; cross over to them and care for their need. You have no better place to be at any time than in the midst of God’s will in that moment. Our lives should be marked by love and service to our Savior and King. Our lives should glorify and reflect Him with every step. Take a moment to examine what others see in you. How’s your reflection?

An Army of Love

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Every kingdom has an army, so I was thinking about what the army of the Kingdom of God would look like as we endeavor to bring that kingdom into reality here on earth. Certainly this army would not look like the traditional army. Jesus rebuked Peter when he lashed out with a sword to try and defend Him (John 18:10-11), so this would seem to dictate that superior firepower should not be a goal of our army. Christ taught that the meek would inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5), so the tactic of aggression appears to be out as well. Similarly, we are taught that we should not “lord over others” (Mark 10:42-45), so domination and conquest are also out. What then, does the army of the Kingdom of God look like, and how is it that they will achieve victory?

One of the clues is found in the second half of the reference in Mark we looked at above (Mark 10:42-45). Here we find Jesus teaching that if we want to win, we have to lose in the eyes of the world, in the prevailing viewpoint of our society. He teaches that we must become the servant to those around us. Instead of conquering our enemies, we are instead to serve them. This is a counterintuitive battle strategy, but it should surprise no one accustomed to living in the upside down Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The King James Version of the Bible translates 1 Peter 2:9 to say we are called to be a peculiar people, and it doesn’t get much weirder than this. The way we prepare for battle as the army of the Kingdom is to voluntarily lay down our lives in order to serve the very ones who are warring against us. How peculiar indeed.

A typical army is financed and outfitted from the support of the nation through taxation. Supporting the army is not an option, it is rather the law. By contrast, financial support for the army of God is totally voluntary. Those engaging in battle rely on the generosity of their fellow soldiers to provide the means to furnish their supplies. In this way, we are more of a brotherhood than an army, a family that looks after one another. This is a good thing, because unlike the typical soldier who can count on the support of His family, God’s warriors are more often despised by their families for their participation in the war. Jesus told us that He came to bring division not only to the earth, but also within families (Luke 12:51-53), because not all would be willing to accept His mission. Without the support of our earthly families, we must rely on our spiritual brothers and sisters to encourage us on in the fight.

The one area where the army of God is very much like a traditional army is in the arena of battle. Make no mistake, there is a very real and very deadly war being waged in the spiritual realm, and you and I are in the thick of it. People are hurt, maimed and killed as a result of the wounds inflicted in the war in which we are engaged. Satan seriously wants to destroy you and Jesus has set in His heart to redeem you. This spiritual battle is often manifested in physical ways through oppression, possession and redemption. Do not make the mistake of believing that what happens in the spiritual realm does not affect your everyday life. You are being influenced by one side or the other in every moment, and it is up to you which way you will choose.

Though we may lack traditional firepower, we possess the greatest weapons of all: faith and love. The Bible tells us that faith can move mountains (Matthew 17:20) and can extinguish every attack of the enemy (Ephesians 6:16). Love is the ultimate weapon in that it can diffuse discord, counteract hate, and turn an enemy into an ally. Jesus said that the greatest expression of love was to lay your life down for another (John 15:13). As we seek to carry out the mission of Christ, we must daily be looking for opportunities to serve others to the point of giving our lives for them. We must invest ourselves authentically into everyone we meet. As we demonstrate the love of Christ to others, we win victory after victory for Christ. Every act of kindness and servitude brings His Kingdom on earth one step closer to fruition. Together our selfless acts of love combine to amass a movement of love that cannot be stopped. This is what the army of God looks like; this is how the war will be won. Not by acts of violence or through weapons of force. God will rule the day by beating back the darkness with His unstoppable light. As we join Him in the battle we will find victory through our acts of service and mercy. We are His army, an army of love.

The Curse of Affluence

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Blessings from God are often measured in terms of material wealth. It has been so throughout most of recorded history, and it remains the prevailing thought in much of Christendom today. Whether that wealth is measured in flocks and herds or money and cars is irrelevant; possessions are seen as a harbinger of the blessings of God. Indeed an entire subculture has sprung up around this teaching, the so-called “health and wealth” theology. Subscribers to this thinking believe that the Bible actually guarantees that if you will follow Christ with all your heart you will become rich and experience an abundant life. This teaching is of course in direct contradiction to Jesus’ teaching of forsaking your earthly possessions and that the poor would be blessed, not the rich (Matthew 19:16-28; Luke 6:20; Luke 16:19-25).

What if we have it all backwards? What if instead of our possessions being a blessing they are actually a curse? The more material things we own, the more we have to lose. The greater our collection of stuff becomes, the harder we work to keep it all. Suddenly we wake up one day and realize that instead of being the lowly and humble servant of Christ we intended to be, we have become the rich young ruler who cannot let go of his possessions. Before we go further, let me be clear that I am not saying that wealth and possessions are necessarily a curse or even inherently bad; just humor the thought for a moment and open yourself up to think about this in a different way. Ultimately whether or not the goods entrusted to our care are a blessing or a curse depends on our attitude toward them and our willingness to release them for the service of Jesus.

When we are generous with our resources I believe it becomes easy to get lulled into a slumber where we dream we are not controlled by money. Meanwhile, regardless of how extravagant our giving may be, the probability is that we continue to pad our savings account and add to our retirement funds. We give much away, yet we also store away considerable sums for ourselves. But what if we stopped being concerned with saving for ourselves and instead poured all of our resources into building the Kingdom of God? What if we kept only enough money for ourselves to cover our food, shelter, clothing and transportation? Simply doing that would still place us in the top 15% of the richest people on the planet. Yet if we would so simplify our lives, how many more resources could be released to feed the hungry, care for the sick, and take the message of Jesus into places that have never heard? It is a challenging and difficult concept to ponder, and I will tell you up front that I don’t have the answer to this paradox; it remains a burden on my heart about which I continue to pray diligently.

No longer storing away for a rainy day or our own retirement comes with great risk. What if we lose it all? Who will care for our needs? But isn’t losing it all exactly where Christ said we would find true life? Didn’t He say that we must forsake everything to follow Him? When did we determine that those words did not apply to us? Perhaps we in our affluence have molded Jesus into a God of our choosing rather than choosing Jesus for the God that He is. The message of Christ has not changed; His message and mission are the same today as they were when He walked the earth. As Jim Elliot once said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.”

We have been numbed and blinded, and now we are in the precarious position of trusting our possessions more than we trust God. Don’t believe me? Try this test: by the end of the week, withdraw all your money from the bank and cash in any retirement and investment funds you might have. Take all of that cash, drive downtown and distribute it all among the poor. Please leave a comment below and let me know how you did. Is that ludicrous? Is it irresponsible to take our earthly wealth and use it for the things Christ told us to do? The only reason we find this to be a crazy idea is that we have become comfortable in, and seek assurances from, our wealth. What we may have perceived as a blessing is now a curse and an anchor because it stands between us and God.

Again, I do not have the answer to this dilemma. I confess that I have not fully liquidated my assets and given it all to the poor. I am haunted by my own lack of faith and selfishness, and am seeking God’s answers and strength in this matter. How about you? Are you at the place where you can give absolutely everything away for His purposes? Have the perceived blessings in your own life become a curse, something that stands between you and God? I think it’s worth pondering this to determine just how tightly we hold onto our possessions, and to examine how ready we are to totally rely on God to provide for our needs. Let us boldly and prayerfully seek God and give serious consideration to what He would have us do with our resources. Praise Him for all He has provided; glorify Him in all that you do with those gifts. Hold loosely to your material possessions so they do not come between you and your faith in God. Don’t allow your blessings to become a curse.

All for One

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Too many Christians relinquish their role in the Kingdom to others whose gifts and talents they deem far more significant than their own. This is a tragic mistake and runs the risk of missing out on the life you were created to live. Jesus has gifted every single person who believes in Him with unique gifts for use in furthering His mission and making His Kingdom a reality on earth. It has been said many times that we are all different parts of the same body, and indeed we all must work together to accomplish the overarching purpose of glorifying God. If any part is not doing what they were created to do, then the whole body will suffer. When those who belong to Christ sit back and watch others engage in Kingdom work, they deprive the entire body of their much needed contribution. As relational beings, we were created to depend on one another, so it is vitally important to the health of the Church that we all do our part and work in unity as we carry out the instructions of Jesus Christ.

One of the most important jobs of all Christ followers is to demonstrate love in everything we do. Those who don’t know Jesus are constantly watching our lives to see if what we have might be of interest to them. As a whole, our mission is to lead others to Christ, going out into the entire world to tell them the good news of Jesus. When we do not demonstrate the love of Christ in our daily lives, those without God will turn away because they find nothing compelling about the way in which we live. We can work diligently to love someone else, only to have another Christian act harshly toward them and so undo all the work we had done. This is why it is of such importance that each of us fully live out our calling and commitment every single minute of our lives. It is not enough for some to be diligent followers of Jesus; we must all be totally surrendered together if we are serious about changing the world for His glory.

Satan loves to convince believers that they have nothing to offer the Kingdom. Judging from the malaise of the Western Church, his schemes of oppression are highly effective. I have met too many people who think their gifts will not make a significant contribution. They are convinced they have nothing to offer and so are content to live lives of non-significance, relying on others to do the heavy lifting so that they can follow along. To be sure, there are those who will do works that appear to be more substantial in the eyes of men, but every act of service to Jesus is of infinite worth in the eyes of Christ. Giving away your sandwich to a hungry co-worker is every bit as significant as preaching to a large crowd of unbelievers. God did not model a ministry of mega-events, but rather one of simple acts to the poor. I believe the reason so many feel they have nothing to give is because they are looking at the size of their gift through earthly eyes rather than through the eyes of Jesus. God can multiply your humble acts of service into earth shaking results. Remember, Christianity started with a handful of fishermen and spread to billions throughout history. Every gift, every act of service, every life, is significant and of great worth and value. No person is exempt.

If you are one of those people who have bought into the lie that you have nothing to offer, I hope that you will be challenged to at least begin to consider thinking differently. Your faith family needs you; God needs you to fulfill the role for which He created you. If we are to reach the world with the truth of Christ, then we will need the thunderous multitude of all our feet marching to the ends of the earth. Every step adds to the glory of God, and to this we are all called. Imagine if every Christian were to put aside their insecurities, pride and selfishness; imagine if instead they were concerned only with demonstrating the love of Jesus through acts of service to others. You have been created to love others and in so doing to glorify your Creator. Only He is worthy of our devotion, and only He can bring us life. Recognize the person He has created you to be; realize He has purposed you to glorify Him and to carry out His mission. No gift is too small to gain the applause of Heaven. You are necessary and vital to God’s mission. Don’t deprive the world of the gifts He has placed within you. Join with your fellow believers and together we will achieve great things for His glory. You count, you matter; don’t let anyone ever tell you differently. You can bring glory to God this very day, simply by believing you were created to do so. Engage in the journey; we all need you. Welcome to the adventure.